The Desire For Honor
by AvatarAero
Summary: "This isn't about me anymore; it's about my brother." Princess Azula, the firebending prodigy, has been sent on a mission: To capture the Avatar. What the Fire Nation population doesn't know, is why. Journey with Azula around the world to find the Avatar and her quest to surpass her brother, before her entire world erupts in flames.
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

**This is my first story that is outside my _Kun: The New Avatar_ storyline. It's also the first one that actively involves ATLA only characters. **

**I intend to make this into a series, but I will update this very infrequently. This is more of a hobby to fill my time when I'm bored with _Kun_.**

 **This story is told through Azula's perspective, and only references the other characters sporadically. I hope that I can write this well going forward.**

 **I hope you enjoy.**

THE DESIRE FOR HONOR  
CHAPTER 0: PROLOGUE

Azula pressed the cold ice to her eye. She leaned back in her chair, and exhaled, watching her breath steam into the air. Even the fire within her could not stop the chill that was creeping into her bones, and slowing her movement.

"Princess Azula! A glacier, up ahead!"

Jerked out of her trance, Azula looked forward, to see the looming block of ice no more than 100 meters away. Kicking the ice to her side, she leaped out of her chair. "All hands on deck! Firebenders, prepare to protect the ship!"

Thunder boomed overhead, although there were no dark clouds in sight. Over the ship, clouds swirled together to create a fantastic sight: A reversed tornado, its peak bearing down on the ship, directly over Azula.

Lightning crackled down the length of the tornado, and connected with Azula's outstretched left index finger. It traveled through Azula, exiting out of her right hand and towards the base of the glacier.

Connecting with a sharp crack, the glacier tipped forward, directly onto the ship, with the force of a thousand Fire Nation ships. Every firebender on the ship sent a stream of fire towards the glacier, in hopes that their intense fire blasts would remove the threat of the hundred ton block of ice.

Over their heads, a new, invigorated stream of fire erupted from the hands of ex - Admiral Zhao. A powerful firebender, one of the Fire Nation's greatest, he melted down the glacier in an instant and broke it into a million shards of ice, pelting the crew.

Fortunately, they had come prepared. The firebenders created walls of fire to protect themselves and Zhao, while those without bending used their shields. A good number ran to Azula, using their shields to block her body, as she was unprepared to deal with the ice.

But it wasn't enough. A slight gap between the shields, and one ill - fated speck of ice made a beeline towards Azula. Escaping the wall of metal that was the Fire Nation armor, it struck Azula directly below her right eye, on the exact contact point of a firebending mishap just a few weeks prior.

"Ahhh!" Azula clutched her eye, and cowered on deck. Groping around near her chair, she located the block of ice and placed it on her eye again. Zhao jogged over to her, and removed the ice from her grip to examine the damage. "Don't worry, Princess. The damage is slight. I'll have someone attend to it immediately."

Blood trickled down the right side of Azula's face as she sighed. "No, don't worry about me. Focus on the ship. It might have taken some damage, and we need all the strength we can get to move through this minefield of a sea."

Zhao nodded. "Of course, Princess." He turned around, and barked the orders to a junior officer, who turned and ran into the control room to relay the instructions.

Azula turned onto her side, away from Zhao, and let a tear slip through her eyelid. She remembered with striking detail the last time she felt such a pain…

 _The towering figure of a man over her kneeling figure…_

 _Tears streaming through her eyes…_

 _Her head looking up, and with almost exact precision, a fireball leaping into her face…_

Zhao looked at Azula. "Are you all right, my Princess?"

Azula wiped away her tears, mixing them with her blood. She gazed down at her reddened hand. "I will never be all right until I capture the Avatar. This isn't about me anymore; it's about my brother." She clenched her hand. "And I will do whatever it takes."

THE END

 **Let me know if you enjoyed the prologue; the first chapter will come out sometime this week, Saturday at the latest.**

 **They might not be as long as the other stories that I write, simply because I don't need to explain as much, but they will probably still be lengthy.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 1: Chill of the South

**As promised, the first chapter of _The Desire for Honor_. I was somewhat pleased with the way the chapter went, so I hope you enjoy it as well.**

 **Update 11/8/16: Thanks to everyone who helped me get to 150 views on _The Desire for Honor_. It's been a pleasure doing this with you, and keep a watchful eye out next week for Chapter 2.**

THE DESIRE FOR HONOR  
CHAPTER 1: CHILL OF THE SOUTH

The cold bit into Azula's lightly dressed frame. Her thick black boots were the only effective article of clothing against the bitter wind. Aside from that, her robe, tights and gloves were purely for show. Neither the torch in her hand nor the glow of blue fire in her palm could warm her sufficiently.

"Princess Azula, please come inside. You'll freeze to death." The gravelly voice came from ex - Commander Zhao, a ruthless Fire Nation official who was removed from his prestigious position under murky circumstances, although within the deepest of Fire Nation villages you will hear that it was because of his rising power that the Fire Lord sought to have him removed. "I can't believe that there are people who live in such an environment. Wretches and savages, the lot of them."

Azula cooly responded, "I care not for nature. We have a purpose in life. Nature does not. If we are to survive and thrive in this world, we have to put our purposes above that of everything else." Even in the blistering cold, her words cut sharply through Zhao.

Zhao moved forward, until he was right at her shoulder. "We have spent all time, all these resources, for one purpose," he whispered. "I have stood by your side through these three years, and I will not see our goal vanish from our grasp simply because you are too obstinate." Azula balked at the lack of formality, and she turned around. Zhao had his arm extended towards the safety of the control tower.

Against her impressive pride, Azula followed the direction of his arm. Inside, she went directly to the bridge, where the captain resides. "Captain, I want you to head directly towards the Southern Water Tribe. They've grown in numbers since we last visited their tribe, but I assure you, we have the numbers to handle them."

The captain nodded, not willing to argue or even suggest anything to the princess. He knew very well what happened to those who decided to contest the Princess' views.

Azula left the bridge and headed to her quarters. On the way, she ran into Zhao once more. He towered over her, his height giving an imposing figure, but Azula knew that he would not dare attack her. "Tell the captain that I wish to be in my chambers. I better not be disturbed." Zhao steeled himself against her tone.

Azula haughtily walked off, and Zhao felt the extreme need to punch something. However, before he could do that, he had to deliver Azula's pressing matters to the bridge, in order to preserve his safety on her ship.

Thankfully for him, the captain and many of the other soldiers were objecting quite explosively to her iron will and lack of remorse. The downside to his position in this situation meant that unless he wanted to incur Azula's wrath upon himself, he would have to calm them down. He sighed inwardly. What he wouldn't give to be in his old position again.

However, in a slight piece of revenge, in order to calm the crew down, he would reveal a small nugget of Azula's past. In fact, it could be used as leverage. So it was with a manipulative and not friendly heart that Zhao sat down on a barrel and motioned for the others in the room to follow suit.

"I'm going to tell you a story, a story of our Fire Princess. The great firebending prodigy, tumbling from power and forced to travel the world, looking for the only opposition to the Fire Nation. But why? Why would the Fire Princess be banished?" He sighed at this point. "Part of the reason is myself."

All the soldiers began to murmur. Their great commander, playing a role in the banishment of the princess? Zhao quieted them down. "I know what you must think of me," he continued. "You must have all heard the rumors of my termination as commander three years ago. Well, the cause of that is the Fire Lord. He feared my power, my leadership and my support with the people. He feared what I may become. And so, he rescinded my title, and had me forcibly removed from the palace."

Zhao's fists clenched at the thought. "He had me thrown out…his childhood friend…" he whispered. "And that is why I travel with the Fire Princess, hoping to capture the Avatar and restore my position as Commander."

He stood up, shaking the barrel on which he sat. "Now, we shall continue this little fable tomorrow," he growled. "And should any of you tell Azula what occurred here, I'll have your badge, your position and your head. Good day."

Zhao abruptly left the room, leaving everyone in attendance clamoring for more information, and praying to the Fire Lord in the sky, should Zhao unleash his fury on the lot of them.

* * *

Azula woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. She couldn't stop the scene from replaying in her head, not even after 3 years of continuous meditation, focus and forgiveness.

Her breathing intensified as she remembered her dreams, even as they noticeably slipped from her memory. She didn't need to remember what was in her dream to know what was on her mind, what had been on her mind for 3 years.

 _The long hall, filled to bursting capacity with Fire Nation soldiers, officials and public. Azula kneeled at one end, facing away from her opponent, assured in her victory. She smirked, and turned around at the sound of the gong._

 _At once, she shook with fear. The firebending prodigy looked on in horror as her opponent stalked closer to her._

 _Snarling, Azula leapt towards the attacker, drawing with her a whip made of pure flames. Without flinching, the shadow grasps the whip firmly, and yanks Azula to his feet._

 _"_ _This is not of my own will. You have caused this. You have become an embarrassment."_

 _Azula blinks away tears. "No, I haven't. I promise, I will atone for my sins. I can get the Avatar!" The figure stops suddenly, and looks down at Azula's cowering frame. "Return the Avatar to me. Then, you can have your power back. But until then, keep this as a memento."_

 _As Azula looked up, she looked directly into the center of a fireball._

"Princess, wake up! We need you at the bridge." Clumsily, Azula turned on the light near her bed, and looked directly into Zhao's scowling jowls. He motioned to the door, and Azula quickly got dressed and followed him.

At the bridge, the princess began barking orders at any ranking officer who would listen. "Ready the troops, and prepare my armor. It's been a while since we've been here, and from our estimates, the Southern Water Tribe has seriously beefed up their defenses." She paused, and continued, "Some even say they have a waterbender in their midst. If we don't capture the Avatar, or find him in the tribe, then we should at least capture the waterbenders. It will be of pleasure to the Fire Lord."

The ship continued on slowly through the icy waters, occasionally bumping into sheets of ice or glaciers here and there. However, the hull was made of tempered steel, melting to a heating point by the intense fire from master benders. With their spiritual energy within the hull, it was powerful enough to withstand any elemental forces. However, Azula had learned from experience that Water Tribe weapons don't bend against the hull of a Fire Nation ship. She would have to take precautionary measures to ensure their victory.

* * *

"Alert! We have a Code Fire, coming in at 62 degrees northeast. All units, take your positions." The alarm blared through the defense wing of the Southern Water Tribe palace. Sokka was sleeping when the alarm went off, but he had been in enough drills to know the procedure when he needed to.

Jumping out of bed, he quickly dressed himself in the Water Tribe armor - a hooded jacket with plating on the inside for vital organ protection, as well as a helmet in the shape of a wolf's head. He grabbed his Water Club, his meteorite sword, and his boomerang, just in case.

Outside of his dormitory, dozens of other warriors were jogging down the hall towards the briefing center. All of them were trained in hand - to - hand combat, weapons and physical training. They were completely prepared for an attack.

Once in the conference room, Sokka immediately went to his father. "Dad, what is going on? Our scouts said that there were no Fire Nation troops in the area. How could they have snuck up on us like this?" he demanded.

Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, shook his head. "I have no idea," he admitted. "It's just a single ship, and it's not a full - class battleship." He nodded confidently. "We can take them."

Hakoda turned to the solders. "This may be the most important battle of our entire lives. We are fighting not only for ourselves, but also for our families and the people of the Southern Water Tribe. Let's save our people!"

The scores of men cheered in unison, prepared for battle. Sokka smiled and turned to his father, only to see a worried look on his face. "Sokka," said his father, "if things don't go the way we planned, we might need to use our secret weapon." A lump rose in Sokka's throat.

"No dad, no way. I'm not putting them in danger." Hakoda rested a hand on his son's shoulder, staring him directly in the eyes. "If we have any luck on our side, we won't need them. Let's get ready."

Sokka clasped his father's hand in his firm grip, and, sheathing his weapons, tackled him a full body hug. This, out of all the training, battles and fights he had been through, was the one he was most afraid for. Hakoda removed himself from the hug, and together, they walked out of the defense wing of the Southern Water Tribe palace.

The defense wing gazed over the entire city of the Southern Water Tribe. The palace itself was set inside of a glacier, with the main officials, soldiers and leaders protected by sheets of thick ice and easy escape into the tundra. The defense wing was the most unprotected, jutting out of the glacier and looking Northwards into the ocean.

Below them, the city was designed in a terraced formation. Different levels of housing, making no distinction between poor and rich, along with other important buildings, were layered, one level atop the other. There was a main pathway directly from the lower levels, where all the defenses were located, all the way to the top of the palace. Congregational locations, such as schools and hospitals, were located near this walkway for easy access.

The proudest, and the crowning accomplishment of the Southern Water Tribe was its use of the surrounding glacial environments, to create a wall. Not as impressive or large as the one in the North, but it served the same purpose: Keep invaders out. However, because of the South's lack of manpower, there was an evasive maneuver that Sokka had thought of.

In the event of a mass attack, there was an option of slightly opening the wall, just to allow one ship at a time to enter. With that narrow opening, attackers from above as well as waterbenders would be able to destroy the ship with ease.

Sokka jogged down the 600 steps down to the wall, where he was tasked with scouting and acting as the first line of the defense. However, he was under strict orders by his own father to retreat. He would not lose his son to any invader, be it at the cost of the first line of defense. Hakoda had planned well.

Sokka peered into the distance. At this time in the morning, the ocean was generally covered in rolling clouds of fog, making it difficult to see much of anything. However, Sokka could make out the faint plume of smoke coming out of the dark shape headed straight for the wall of the Southern Water Tribe.

* * *

Azula prepared the men on her ship. There were only a few dozen, but they were al proficient weapons masters or firebenders. They could handle themselves, even against the onslaught of ice, snow and cold that awaited them.

Azula looked at the men arranged in neat rows in front of her. "You know what is most important here. Not you, not your fellow crew members, but attaining a waterbender or the Avatar at any cost. It doesn't matter what that cost may be. Kuzon, Mako, I want you to join me and some of my weapons masters above deck. "

The soldiers dispersed, either procuring weapons for themselves and their partners or making sure that the members of the ship knew exactly what the plan would be.

The captain took Azula aside once they were outside of the guards' dormitories. "Princess, are you sure in your plan? If it fails, it could be fatal for all of us." Azula flashed her smile, and glared down the captain. "I know what I am doing captain," she stated, still smiling in that sickly sweet grimace. "I know what I am doing when it comes to insubordination as well. Do you want to learn that firsthand?"

The captain bows meekly, and runs off, with a "No Princess" hanging in the air for seconds after his disappearance. Zhao steps up behind her. "And that is a perfect example of why you are the most ruthless person I have ever met."

Azula smiled once more, and called for Hotaru and Kuzon. "You know your instructions?" They both nodded, fearing for their lives should they say a word out of place. "Then get to work. I want it ready by the time we reach the Southern Water Tribe."

* * *

Hotaru grabbed the ropes on one end of the device, while Kuzon secured them with some fancy rope - work. Hotaru grunted as the job was completed, and stood up straight for a moment, breathing in heavily.

Kuzon grabbed his arm and led him over to the other side of the contraption, gazing up at it in the process. "Do you really think it will work?" he asked. Hotaru growled again as he struggled to hold the ropes steady. "I don't know, but I'm certainly going to try to make it work."

Kuzon finished tying the rope down and grasped Hotaru's forearm in his grip. "IF neither of us make it out today, just know that it's been a n honor working with you, Chief." Hotaru tipped his head, and said, "Likewise, sir. See you back on the ship."

Kuzon jogged up to Azula at the bridge, and called out, "Princess Azula! We have prepared our attack! All we need is your signal to launch!"

Azula smiled, this time much more coldly than before, and instructed Hotaru to wait until they could see the Southern Water Tribe markings on their wall.

Minutes after she said this, the gleaming wall of the Southern Water Tribe was visible. The wavy logo, indicating the power of the ocean, was etched onto the front. Barely visible soldiers were walking on the top of the wall.

"Ready the weapon! I don't want any mistakes!"

Hotaru set a large, flammable ball of leaves and oils on fire, igniting it within the clutches of a massive trebuchet. Located in the center of the main deck, the trebuchet was aimed directly at the wall of the Southern Water Tribe.

"FIRE!"

With one swing of his broadsword, Kuzon cut the lines restricting the trebuchet from throwing the ball of fire. The fireball sailed towards the wall, directly where Sokka was standing. But it was in an odd trajectory, flying directly over Sokka's head and directly onto the houses below him, on the first terrace.

Without hesitation, Sokka immediately ripped a piece of parchment from his belt and a writing utensil. He quickly scribbled out a message to his father, detailing the location of the ship as well as their failed attack. Just as soon as he gave the message to a courier, another fireball sailed over his head and onto the ice below him.

Hakoda received the message just as the third fireball sailed down onto the emptied houses. As he read the message, he began to pale in fear as he realized what Azula was planning.

"Open the wall," he said gruffly to the messenger. "Tell Sokka to open the wall."

"But sire, the strategic maneuver is meant for multiple ships. It won't work against a lone attacker."

Hakoda stared daggers at the man. "I don't need you to tell me how my own maneuvers work. I want all the warriors to stay near the docking bay, and that includes Sokka."

The messenger, frightened by the ferocity that Hakoda rarely displayed, hurried down to tell Sokka, just as the fifth fireball was being thrown. There were sizable craters that were burning the ice, and many of the soldiers stationed within the wall were hard at work putting them out before they spread.

Sokka, upon hearing his father's words, begrudgingly accepted. Calling down both sides of the wall, he instructed the soldiers to leave the wall and stay near the docking bay. At the same time, the waterbenders tasked with opening the wall began their process.

Azula halted the attack once she saw the wall opening up, and waited a few more seconds for a sizable opening. Then, without warning, she called upon the power of lightning to absolutely blast the wall open.

Sokka was fortunate enough to be off the wall when the lightning struck the wall, but some others were not as lucky. At least a dozen soldiers fell off the wall and crashed into the hard ice, and had to be taken away for healing.

Hakoda gripped his weapons and ran down to the docking bay the instant he saw the wall explode with the force of the lightning. He joined Sokka in leveling his spears and weapons at the ship, who slowly creaked to a stop. The tension in the air increased as the front of the ship released steam and drop down onto the ice.

For a second, all was calm. Until a group of firebenders leapt out of the ship and began attacking the dozens of warriors on the ice. Using their shields, designed for protection from firebending, the warriors survived the blast. Following the firebenders, the weapons masters charged the soldiers from all sides, and a battle ensued.

None of the warriors were benders, so defeating the soldiers became a difficult task. However, the soldiers had numbers on their side, able to put two or three on one given soldier. With support from women and children throwing objects and snowballs at the invaders, they were able to push them back to the ship.

Until Zhao emerged. With one strong leap he landed in front of Sokka and Hakoda, who has just disposed of a fallen Fire Nation attacker. Zhao pulled his sword from his belt and lit it on fire with his bending. Hakoda and Sokka prepared their weapons as well, charging Zhao.

Even with advantage of numbers on their side, Sokka and Hakoda found it difficult to land a blow on Zhao. The combination of his flaming weapon and his advanced fighting style made it a real challenge to slip past his defenses. Zhao parried a stab Hakoda's spear, and when Sokka took advantage of the lack of defense, Zhao used the hilt of his sword to knock Sokka down, a bruise forming on his head.

Hakoda yelled in rage, dropping his spear and grabbing his club. However, Zhao was prepared with a fireball of his own. Hakoda saw the ball of fire in Zhao's hand slightly too late, and realized that the club wouldn't make it to Zhao in time.

Just before it left Zhao's hand, ice, seemingly moving on its own, grabbed his hand. As Zhao looked down at his frozen hand, Hakoda's club came crashing into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Fortunately, the armor blocked most of the attack.

Zhao looked around in surprise, and saw a young girl running towards Sokka. She bent down, removed her glove and created a mitten of water, which she ran over the bruise on Sokka's head.

Zhao's eye twitched, and he barely noticed Hakoda running at him with a spear. With one swift move, Zhao knocked the spear out of his hands and threw him to the ground. He left Hakoda groaning in pain.

Zhao grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her to his ship. He called out, "Fire Nation soldiers, return to the ship!" Without question, all of the Fire Nation soldiers defeated their opponents swiftly and returned to the ship.

"Get away from my daughter!" Hakoda bellowed as he charged Zhao, who handed the girl off to a soldier to be taken inside. Zhao avoided the swing of Hakoda's club neatly, stepped to the side, and rammed the heel of his foot into Hakoda's knee. With a final blow to the side of his head, Hakoda dropped unconscious, as Zhao took his daughter onto the ship.

* * *

Azula was somewhat pleased, which was a large step up from "furious" at the beginning of the day. She had captured a waterbender, and the daughter of Chief Hakoda at that. The Fire Lord would be pleased.

"Lock her in the hold," commanded Azula. "And quickly. I don't want her getting ideas about capsizing the ship with a gigantic wave."

Zhao nodded and relayed the commands down to his junior officers. The girl, who was being held belowdecks, was taken to the bridge to meet her captor.

"What do you want with me?" she growled. Azula smiled. "Nothing much, really. All I want is you. You just need to stay alive and civil until we reach the Fire Nation, and then you will be handed over to the Fire Lord. It's simple."

The girl snarled. She began to tense up. Azula immediately sensed something was wrong, but before she could call out any orders, the ship was rocked side to side. "Get her down to the hold before we suffer any more damage!" yelled Zhao. "I'll see what's wrong with the ship."

Zhao leaned over the edge to examine the glacier and the resulting damage. It was large enough to encompass a whole phalanx of soldiers, but it was still dwarfed by the ship. However, it managed to gain enough force to leave a sizable dent in the hull. The damage was of no matter; they could get it repaired in any port they docked into. But what was inside the glacier was what Zhao was interested in.

"Princess Azula! There's something in the glacier that you might want to see." Azula joined Zhao at the rail and peered down at the glacier. Slowly, as she realized who it was, she began to laugh. "This is our lucky day, Commander Zhao." Zhao was taken aback by her use of his full title. "We have a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, and now we have the Avatar."

THE END

 **If you read the chapter before my secondary edits, you may remember a different author's note here. One that talked about aging up the characters. I was told, with a very helpful and detailed review from** ValkyrianSalad **, that it would do no good and would confuse the readers even more. So I have left the ages as is.**

 **I will be writing more chapters for this, but again, I have no schedule. It's really based on how much time I spend on the other chapters. If I have time, I can sneak in a chapter here and there for other fanons.**

 **That's all for now, and see you in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2: Opposites Attract

**This is Chapter 2 of _The Desire for Honor_. There is something I would like to inform you, the reader, about throughout this story. I will refer to the two protagonists as "the boy" and "the girl" repeatedly. It killed me everytime, but I wanted at least some suspense to the story as to their identities, even if it seemed obvious to some people.**

 **I would like to thank everyone for getting me to over 300 views on this story since I first published it. I really appreciate all the support, and the helpful reviews from the readers. It is also my most popular story this month so far, and my second most popular story overall. Again, I appreciate the support.**

THE DESIRE FOR HONOR

CHAPTER 2: OPPOSITES ATTRACT

 _Aang woke to see the sky on fire._

 _His small dormitory had a window that faced directly towards the Fire Nation islands. Convenient if he needed to slip out to see his friend Kuzon, but very inconvenient when all he saw as he looked of his window was a gigantic ball of fire._

 _"_ _Gah!" Stumbling away from the window, Aang tried his best to block the incoming ball of flames. Using an old airbender trick, he created a vacuum just at the entry point of the window, so that when the fireball entered the vacuum, it would immediately die from the lack of oxygen. An ingenious plan._

 _Except that, upon entering the vacuum, the ball of fire exploded, throwing Aang back against the wooden door and into the hallway. Looking around, he saw others who were having similar problem. Many of the less skilled airbenders were covered in soot or had their dorms blown to smithereens._

 _Aang ran down the steps to where Gyatso normally was at this time of the morning - teaching classes in the airbender field. When he got to the field, he saw Gyatso replicating his trick but on a much larger scale, able to stop multiple fireballs at the same time. He faced the same fate as Aang, however, when they combusted not far from the cowering airbenders._

 _"_ _Gyatso, that doesn't work! There must be another way to stop this!" Aang called out. Gyatso momentarily looked away from the invasion to talk to Aang. "Aang, you must go. These people, they are looking for you. You must protect yourself. Go!"_

 _Aang's eyes welled up with tears. Gyatso had been his mentor and his best friend for 10 years. "Gyatso, I can't leave you!"_

 _Gyatso looked him dead in the eyes. "There is no other way, Aang. We can hold them off long enough, but you must leave! Take Appa, and fly far away!"_

 _Blinking away his tears and sorrows, Aang ran to the bison stables, where all of the animals were agitated and bellowing. Aang ran to Appa, removed the rope holding him in place and jumped on his back. "Let's go, boy! Yip - yip!"_

 _Appa grunted and took off, naturally directing himself away from the invasion and into colder waters. As he flew away, Aang turned back to see smoke billowing from the Southern Air Temple as a part of it crumbled down the mountain. Even from his distance, Aang could see the massive whirlwinds that Gyatso created to block the incoming fireballs. And even from a distance Aang could see the intensity of the whirlwinds decreasing; he could feel Gyatso's energy waning._

 _Aang turned forward and drove Appa farther forward, and he didn't look back._

* * *

"It seems like he's dreaming, or hallucinating," Zhao commented. The boy was twitching in his sleep, suspended in the air by chains that circled his limbs and ended at his ankles and wrists and then extended to a circle of metal around him. The cage, for lack of a better term, was designed to contain an airbender, and it did its job well.

The boy was young, about 11 or 12 years of age. His orange and yellow monk's clothes were torn, some holes even having charred edges, suggesting some form of fire damage prior to his coma. Surprisingly, his body was healed completely of all injuries, and not a scratch was evident on his skin. Even so, he seemed to be suffering some sort of psychological journey, as he continued to twitch and shake.

Azula stepped back, lest the boy suddenly awake and wreak havoc on the small ship. But he was well and truly passed out, a likely combination of being frozen for a hundred years and being sprung from the glacier he was in with a bolt of energy.

"Let's go. I don't want to give his subconscious any ideas." Zhao's pride bristled once again as the young girl ordered him around for the second time in as many days. He would have to vent his anger out to the crew when he had the chance, but for the time being, he had much more important jobs.

The main problem for the ship was its lack of defense. Aside from the massive trebuchet, which had been damaged slightly in the attack, and the firebenders on board, there was little in the way of weapons to ensure a successful battle on open water. Zhao wanted to change that, using some techniques he had learned in the Fire Nation navy.

The first main change to the defense would be the addition of cannons to the sides of the ship. Not only would this provide as excellent defense against other vessels that aimed to attack from the sides, but with the firebenders on the ship firing and reloading the cannons would be extremely quick.

Zhao shook his head in disbelief. He had no idea why the theory hadn't been implemented before.

* * *

The girl awoke laying down on her stomach in a metal cell. She blinked a few times as a light pooled in the center of the cell. It was small, just tall enough for her to stand up. Barely a meter by a meter in area, the girl was severely cramped for space.

The second thing she noticed when she woke up was how parched she was. Her throat was drier than the Si Wong desert, and she couldn't think properly because of the lack of proper blood flow. She could even feel her heart pumping slower in response to the thicker blood that it had to move throughout her body.

Unfortunately, her only failsafe for drinking water in this situation would not have helped her. Breaking a sweat by exercising, or using her own saliva, would not have made her feel any better. She had to have some outside source for water.

So it was with great humility that she banged on the bars of her cell, and called out with a hoarse throat, "Can I get some water down here, please?"

It took the guards a good ten minutes to get a pitcher of water. However, it was barely filled with water, just enough to water the girl's throat and nothing more. Just after finishing the pitcher and handing it back to the guard, a thought struck her: _You're a waterbender, and they are giving you water. What in the world are you waiting for?_

Hoping she wasn't too late, the girl called for the guard again. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm still a little thirsty. Could I get any more water, please?" She flashed her eyes at him, hoping to sway him with her charm.

The guard remained unfazed. "I've been given specific orders to not give you water until at least two days have passed. Wouldn't want any unwanted problems on board the ship, if you know what I mean." She kept up the smiling, ignorant facade while cursing herself out in her head for not thinking ahead.

The guard was still speaking, managing to anticipate her next question even before . "And don't ask for any food either. We're only a few days away from the port of Gaoling. You can get something there."

The girl resigned herself to a long few days in her cell. Her eyes inexplicably began to close, despite the fact that she had been asleep for close to a day prior to drinking for the first time on the ship, until they flew open as the ship rocked.

The sloshing below her. She recognized the familiar tug of her natural element from underneath, a small force reminding the girl that she could use her power to her benefit. Her eyes fluttered closed once more as a plan came together in her mind, and she went to sleep in a dreamless slumber.

* * *

"10 minutes to Gaoling!"

Azula checked the stores of the ship to ensure their quality and quantity. She didn't want to be swindled on money or supplies this close to her goal.

Thankfully, the barrels of water that had mysteriously exploded a few days ago hadn't damaged any major supplies, and even the dents in the ceiling that had just appeared were easily repaired with spare parts and some handy firebending.

Azula clicked her tongue. Thankfully, the girl was suspected, and rightfully so, of these actions, and was moved higher up on the ship and far away from the storerooms to prevent any further action. She had been frustrated on her capture, but she relented when she had to face 30 firebenders. Even a master waterbender would have trouble against that type of firepower.

"5 minutes to Gaoling!"

Azula left the storerooms and stormed up towards the bridge. As she passed soldiers, she made sure that they were prepared to defend the ship. She hadn't resorted to such measures, but with the Avatar and a waterbender on board the ship, she was not willing to take chances.

"2 minutes to Gaoling!"

Azula reached the bridge, and was joined shortly by the captain and Zhao at the head. As they closed into the dock of one of the most prosperous ports in the entire Earth Kingdom, they saw something that made their throats close in fear.

"A Fire Nation flag," breathed Zhao. Hung high over the main steeple in the center of the seaside village, the flag signified the Fire Nation's control over the Southern portion of the Earth Kingdom.

However, for the past three years, Azula and her ship were able to dock in Gaoling only because they were discreet and handsomely paid anyone they bartered with to keep their secret. It helped being the Fire Princess at times.

Now that the Fire Nation had extended its control over Gaoling, a major port for the southern side of the Earth Kingdom, there was no reasonable way that Azula could remain. Besides, there was a good chance that those she had previously traded with were gone and there was no one else with tight enough lips to risk the supplies for.

Azula almost cursed under her breath, and Zhao leaned in as if to pounce on her indecisiveness. "Princess, there is no way we can dock here. We must move along the coast if we have any chance to continue our quest back to the Fire Nation. Think of what would happen if your brother had a chance to take the Avatar from your grasp."

With the final mention of her brother, Azula snapped. "Get us out of here," she snarled to the captain. "We can test our luck further up the coast. I will not allow my brother to get his hands on my prize."

With one hand gripping the clutch and the other rapidly turning the wheel, the captain managed to wrestle the ship out of the bay and headed north down the coast.

* * *

The girl awoke for the second time in a cell, except this one was much different than the one she had been in last. It was a proper room, about 3 meters tall, 6 meters in length and 3 meters in width. A proper holding cell for two unwilling prisoners.

She was the second, the boy being there first as signified by the chafing on his wrists that was much worse than what she had. Not to say that the burn on her wrists didn't hurt, but she could see that although the boy was younger than she was, he was able to endure much more pain.

She groaned, feeling the familiar lack of water in her system and her parched throat. Her escape attempt had been slightly ridiculous, as she exploded the water in the barrels underneath her and tried to pull it through the meter thick steel towards her. When that didn't work, she had to resort to knocking the ship around with a wave, disorienting the guards just long enough to almost reach the exit. _Almost_.

But now she was here, and she needed food and water quickly. She hadn't eaten in a few days, making her 120 pounds of lean muscle ready to fight at a moment's notice, when she had the energy. Hopefully, she would get it.

"Excuse me?" Her throat was so dry it hurt to speak. "I haven't eaten in a few days, and so has this boy. Are we at Gaoling yet?"

There was no reply for a few minutes, though it felt like an hour. Then, the door opened and guard walked in. "It seems there's been a change of plans. We haven't stopped in Gaoling and we won't stop again until we don't see a Fire Nation flag. So it might be a few more days until we can get you some food."

The girl tried to protest, but was unable to do so. It seemed that her throat was too dry to allow anything more than a whisper to exit her voice box. Luckily, to her right, the boy was waking up.

He blinked slowly and looked to his left to see a prisoner sharing his fate. Almost yelling, he managed to calm himself to not let the guards or anyone else know he was awake from his supposed coma.

"All right, look, I don't know who you are, but I know you're the Avatar. The only way for us to get off this ship, together, is if we work together. I have a plan, and thanks to you being an airbender, it may just work out. All right?"

The boy nodded. Now that the introduction was aside, the girl managed to relax. Following a lapse in their conversation, the boy asked, "Nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Aang."

A warm smile appeared on the girl's face. "And I'm Katara."

THE END

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There are more chapters to come, and some jumping around of information is always a staple in my stories, since I am that type of writer. If you have a problem, let me know via PM and I will do my best to not make it as confusing.**

 **That's all for this story. I will see you along the week for the next installment in _Fire of the Red Lotus_ , but until then, see you.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Blockade

**Hello to everyone reading this post. This is the second day in my 5 day fanon posting spree, since I was out for the whole month of December. Today is going to be Chapter 3 of _The Desire for Honor_ , and it's been about a month and a half since I last posted a chapter for this.** **Sorry about that.**

 **Basically, this chapter is going to involve very little Aang and Katara, since we had plenty of that in the last chapter, and it's more going to be based on the dynamic between Azula and Zhao. Plus, we get to see some Azula backstory, which I haven't talked about in two months.**

THE DESIRE FOR HONOR  
CHAPTER 3: THE BLOCKADE

Aang's wrists had been chafing for days now. The skin was rubbed red by the harsh edges of the cuffs, and his ankles weren't faring too well either. Hanging up by his wrists had really done a number on his muscles as well, as his limbs burned from the pain and the strain of holding up his weight for days.

Katara wasn't much better. She weighed more, and thus she was losing he skin on her wrists much easier. Unfortunately for her, she also had worse injuries on her ankles because of the load on the bottom chains. She could barely sleep, the pain was so intense, and she wasn't as strong as Aang, letting her muscles give out every few hours even in spite of the pain.

It didn't help that it had been days since they last ate a decent meal. In the 5 days since they left Gaoling, all they were given was some bread and enough water to survive. It seemed that Azula wanted them to survive, but she didn't want to risk another escape. They would stick to the bare necessities, and it worked. For 5 days since Gaoling, not once did Aang or Katara think of escape. They thought of food, water or not being in pain, but never did they think of escape.

* * *

Azula yawned. Nighttime had already fallen, and she was well past her normal time for sleep. She had spent the entire day training her bending, even going so far as to shoot lightning into the sky. No one would notice, or care. They couldn't do anything about it if they did care, either.

A gigantic map was unfurled on the captain's table. Almost 3 meters long by 2 meters wide, it showed each nation in near exquisite detail. Designed by the Fire Nation itself for conquests and mapping the movement of troops, Azula had managed to sneak one away when she was banished.

She shook her head, trying to focus on the situation at hand. They had just passed the city of Chin two days ago, and they had just rounded the major horn in the south of the Earth Kingdom. They had two options: Try and cut across the open sea to a major port across the bay, or hug the shore, trying to find a village that had enough supplies to sustain the crew, or at least prolong their survival.

Both options were bad. The captain of the ship and Commander Zhao walked in. "Princess. You should be asleep," Zhao said as he bowed out of begrudging respect. Azula waved away his concern. "I'm trying to figure out the most probably nautical maneuver for our survival. Surely you can understand that, Commander Zhao, master of the Navy."

For the hundredth time in countless days, Zhao filled with anger. He could not begin to comprehend Azula's arrogance, pride or mockery. Here was the banished Fire Princess, ordering him around, Commander Zhao? Nevertheless, he steeled himself, his muscles tense, as he responded with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Princess, if I may suggest a likely course. If we remain near the shore, the chance is high that we will encounter a village with at least some sense of direction and certain foods that the crew would enjoy. I'm sure that the entire village would be willing to part with any surplus they have, whether we must do it civilly or by force."

Azula laughed, a shrill tone that echoed in the room. "You really are not as intelligent as you look," she mocked. "Have you not heard of the stories about the bay? Legend has it that the swamp in the area is spiritually infused, a dangerous place filled with spirits that will have nothing to do with humans. Disgusting creatures, the hidden animals are."

Again a short burst of laughter. "That's all superstition, of course. I say that we should cut across the bay because of the blockade that prevents anyone from getting into the little inlets of the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation blockade starts here - " Azula pointed at a spot just before the swamp on the shore, a day's journey ahead of them " - and ends here," pointing at the strip of land past one of the major inlets of the Earth Kingdom. "In light of that, I think that we should cut across the bay. Captain, informs the crew. We start the journey tonight."

Azula stalked out of the room, presumably to sleep, or ruminate more in her room. Whatever the case, she was away from Zhao, who began to breathe steam the minute she left. "Call the crew," he growled. "I think that we should fulfill Azula's wishes, personally."

* * *

Within minutes, the crew was gathered in the conference room outside of the bridge, Zhao seated on a stool in front of the seated crew, eagerly awaiting the gossip on Azula like hounds waiting to devour their leader if given the chance.

Zhao rubbed his stubble and calmed himself, but his red eyes still shone in his face. He grabbed his jaw, opened his mouth and let the edge of his mouth creep upwards into a half - smile. "Azula, our great and visionary leader, would like us to risk our lives, the lives of our two prisoners and everything that we have spent the last three years working for on the basis of a Fire Nation blockade. Unfortunately, there is very little that I can do that will save us in this situation. However, I know that each and every one of you are strong, and you will survive this. And as an early reward, I will finally tell you the story of how Azula was banished from the Fire Nation."

There was a collective gasp around the room. The general populace had very little information on Azula's banishment, only that she was banished, obviously, and was tasked with looking for the Avatar as a service to her country. That, she hoped, was what would return her to a state of power. Now that she finally had the Avatar, she was beginning to adopt some of her old habits, such as demeaning tones, insulting language and threatening even the slightest misdemeanor.

"Azula was 11 at the time. A young Princess, but quite obsessed with the war. She spent hours studying textbooks, analyzing battle strategies and even practicing moves. Every week, you could almost guarantee that she would run up to a major general and explain to them a flaw in their plan to defeat some Earth Nation city. It was mind - boggling. She was so adorable, regardless of her attitude towards others. I'll tell you what changed it all, oh I will. It was a dark day for her, but also a dark day for myself…"

* * *

 _Azula slammed the book shut. The sheer size of it - over 3,000 pages of content - made the room echo with the sound. Azula threw herself over the bed and hauled the book from the bed, almost folding under the weight. Azula was a powerful bender and excelled at hand to hand combat, but she was more lithe and agile than muscle. Weighing only 35 kilograms, she had hardly more substance in her than the book._

 _Stumbling out into the blazing red hallway, she shouted for a good two minutes, before one of the servants in the palace rushed to her aid. Relieving herself of the book, Azula carried herself haughtily to a general's meeting, presided over by Commander Zhao. The Fire Lord remained behind his wall of fire, as customary, but here was a new change. Azula's brother Zuko sat next to him._

 _Fire Prince Zuko, the eternal rival of Azula, has preference over her in the ascent to the throne. Azula's blood boiled, even though she knew that it was bound to happen one day. She just didn't expect it so quickly and so visibly._

 _Commander Zhao cleared his throat, somehow reading her mind. "As I was saying, if we move our troops from across the canal to the Serpent's Pass, we have a clear path to Ba Sing Se. A concentrated passage like that will allow us to stockpile our forces until we can invade the great city. This was suggested by one of our expert tacticians."_

 _Azula's pride got the better of her. Running to where Zhao was, she put her hand onto the map, about where the troops were, according to Zhao. "What a ridiculous idea! if we went through the rivers near the city instead, then we could be hidden by the fog, and we could launch a surprise attack! Why wouldn't you do that when you have an opportunity!"_

 _Dead silence struck the room. Everyone but Azula was shocked or appalled at her behavior, most of all, her father. "You dare speak to one of my most respected tacticians in this way? Do you even know who he is? It is your brother! He devised this plan, based on Earth Nation formations! What does a girl know of military technique?"_

 _Azula swallowed, a lump in her throat. A shadow crossed over her face, the imposing figure of Zhao standing between her and Ozai. "My lord, Azula has read on military tactics for the past two years. If she had an idea, I think that we should entertain it. I will vouch for her."_

 _Ozai nodded his head, while Zuko stared at both Azula and Zhao furiously. Azula's eyes connected with his, and the tension was visibly palpable for all those not looking at Ozai or Zhao's discussion._

 _Finally, Ozai came to his own conclusion. "We will implement Azula's plan." Zuko almost jumped out of his seat, but Ozai's arm kept him in place with his arm. "Calm yourself, Zuko. Should your plan fail, then you have given me reason to believe that you are not what this nation needs to survive in the war. Action will be taken accordingly."_

 _Azula was truly confident that whatever the case may be, she was a valuable asset to the country. A prodigy firebender and a master strategist, there was no way that her father could follow up on his promise, even if her ruse failed._

* * *

Zhao sighed. "The Earth Kingdom knew that Ba Sing Se was close to the river. Under the guise of the fog, they completely slaughtered our forces. We lost hundreds of thousands that day, and Ba Sing Se reinforced itself and other states in rebellion with our weapons."

"Azula's boneheaded move that day cost us a potentially war - ending battle. And today, it may cost some of you your lives. I just hope that we can weather this storm out, or at least, get Azula off of her power trip and back onto ground. This way, it's a near slaughter."

* * *

It had been some days since Azula decided to move the ship across the bay. The cook had pronounced that there was only enough food for two more days, unless everyone started eating in smaller portions. The crew members were faced with a choice: Go hungry for slightly longer than normal; or hope to the Avatar in the sky that the ship could make it across the bay in two days. Nearly everyone voted for the former.

The prisoners were also fed less, although they didn't realize it. Resources were partitioned so thinly that most everyone was in a constant state of hunger, thirst or pain. Only Azula was exempt from this feeling, and Zhao might well have been, regardless of what he felt on the inside.

Azula's move was not all bad, however. 5 days after they changed course and avoided the blockade, the captain reported that they would be in sight of land within the next day. There were also reports of a village not too far up the coast, but it was under Fire Nation supervision. They would either have to make the purchases separately, or they would have to fight for the control of the village. Everyone was too tired to make a choice, but that was enough for Azula. They couldn't risk an actual fight.

Just after lunch the day before they were expected to make landfall, the one thing Azula dreaded in her three years at sea was made a reality. Another Fire Nation ship let go its horn in a series of honks in a language created by Zhao himself, as a way of communicating with other ships. Even without being able to see the ship, Zhao knew exactly what the message said: _STOP WHERE YOU ARE. PREPARE TO BE BOARDED._

As the fog cleared, courtesy of Zhao's immense rage, the much larger ship came up directly next to Azula's ship. On the deck, clear as day, stood General Iroh, the brother of the Fire Lord and the most proficient firebender in the army. Quite fun - loving and amiable, he could very quickly turn aggressive, devising firebending moves that no one had imagined, and quickly rising through the ranks of the army as a military genius.

Upon seeing Azula, he laughed heartily. "Niece Azula! It has been too long!" Azula looked away and muttered, "Not too long for me."

A bridge was lowered between the two ships, and Iroh boarded the vessel, along with some other, official Fire Nation soldiers. Iroh walked up to Zhao. "How have you been, my friend?"

Zhao stalked away. "Quite terrible, stuck on this ship with no success…to speak of." Iroh heard the tremor in his voice, but thought nothing of it. "Have you had any good conquests lately? Burned any villages, threatened any harmless civilians for your own gain?"

Iroh burst into laughter, but no one else followed suit. He obviously thought Zhao was joking, but no one else seemed to think the same way. "Oh, you know me, I don't partake in those sorts of activities. What about yourselves? I heard from a source that you invaded the Southern Water Tribe. Was it a successful raid?"

Azula looked away from Iroh. "Yes," she haltingly admitted. "We found a waterbender, illegally residing there. She was not registered, and thus we decided to take her to my father."

Iroh stroked his beard, musing, "My brother is not one to take a waterbender in exchange for the removal of disloyalty. But maybe I can convince him to change his mind, if I get a good look at the waterbender and can make a reasonable argument for why she is valuable."

Zhao hurried forward. "Well, she is the daughter of Water Tribe Chief Hakoda, but she's pretty tired right now. The entire crew is. Just let us go to shore, and we can stock up on supplies. Then, you can report to the Fire Lord that Princess Azula has a waterbender. We can save time that way."

Iroh, taken aback by Zhao's violent defense against seeing the waterbender, grew slightly suspicious. Charging towards the prison room, Iroh thundered, "If you're hiding something in your prison, then the General of the Fire Nation demands to see it. This is a Fire Nation ship, and I can demand to see whatever I want to see."

Just as Iroh passed Zhao, Zhao moved over to block Iroh's path. He stared down at Iroh, whose features hardened into a mask of pure rage. "What is it that you could be hiding down there? Could it be…the Avatar?"

No one on the ship could hide their surprise, not even Zhao. Iroh grinned. "Lucky guess, really. But thank you for confirming my beliefs. Now, you can either step aside and let me inspect your _prisoners_ , or we can duel."

Zhao growled, "This is my life on the line. If you walk down those steps to see those prisoners, then it will be over my dead body."

Iroh smiled. "I expected as much from a brash and headstrong commander as yourself. An Agni Kai it is. Do you remember the last time we dueled? I hope not."

THE END

 **Also, there's Iroh! I know I made him a different person in this fanon, to somewhat suit my purposes, but I'll try my best to make him the fun and lovable character that he always was, aside from those times when he's dueling one of our protagonists.**

 **Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 3 of this week long spree, where we return to _Fire of the Red Lotus._ I haven't posted this in a month. How time flies. See you tomorrow!**


	5. Chapter 4: Clash of Fire

**Welcome to the last day of this whole week of fanon posting. I'm tired from writing all of these; how about you?**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this week of posting fanons. I couldn't get in the new story that I wanted to, but I did not have time with the amount of fanons I wanted to complete. Hell, I had to finish at least 7 chapters for this week and then for the fanons in a couple of weeks.**

 **Anyway, I hope this was a good start to your year, and look forward to more fanons coming this month!**

THE DESIRE FOR HONOR  
CHAPTER 4: CLASH OF FIRE

Zhao crouched low on his side of the arena, his fire Nation rag across his shoulders. His chiseled body was put on show for all the audience, of which there were many. Word of the Agni Kai spread like wildfire throughout the city of Haruka. In front of him, Azula stood with her boot directly under Zhao's face.

"Don't disappoint me. This is not just for you; my honor rests on this as well."

Zhao gritted his teeth, but this time, he was completely willing to put the anger to good use. The rage fueled his firebending, and he could feel the heat rising underneath his skin. He had been humiliated by Iroh in the past, but no longer.

On the other side of the arena, a fit Iroh was preparing himself for the fight as well. His rag was embroidered, well made and signified his position in the Fire Nation as the brother of the Fire Lord and one of the highest commanders. He held himself to a high standard, and he wouldn't let himself be defeated by one of his old rivals.

Both of the men stood up, letting the rags on their shoulders fall to their feet. They turned around, whipping their muscled bodies through the air. On the tiers above them, hordes of people began to cheer as a gong rang out through the air.

Even from the distance of 10 meters, Zhao and Iroh could clearly see directly into each other's eyes. Zhao knew that he would have to outplay Iroh to win the fight, but it would take considerable skill on his part, and a slight…misstep on Iroh's part.

After a tense moment, and unlike their previous encounters, it was Iroh who began the fight, with a barrage of fireballs that caught Zhao off guard. Not only was Zhao usually the one to initiate attack, but Iroh was a more passive bender. Zhao grimaced. There would be some more skill required than he thought, and a lot more luck than before.

He had no time to think further, as Iroh's next barrage of attacks came hurling at him. Iroh tried many ways to trap Zhao inside of a firestorm, but Zhao knew Iroh's tricks. Ducking, dodging, avoiding and flat out extinguishing the blasts, both Zhao and Iroh were breathing heavily at the end of the second round.

The crowd began to gasp, and whispered amongst one another. Zhao wanted to raze the stadium to the ground if they continued.

Iroh noted Zhao's distraction. Before Zhao could react once more, Iroh yelled and began a fresh wave of fire, except these were meant to wear out Zhao rather than forcibly attack him. Zhao's physical fitness was incredible, but even he couldn't stand up to the constant maelstrom from Iroh.

Zhao was breathing much too heavily for his own good by the time Iroh had finished with the blasts. Iroh was also breathing heavily, but less so than Zhao.

Zhao knew that this was his last opportunity. He couldn't pass up this chance; the very moment that could decide the Agni Kai. So he let his shoulders slump down; barely perceptible, but enough that he knew Iroh would notice.

Right on cue, Iroh began to pelter Zhao with another set of attacks. By this time, the crowd was more enthusiastic about Iroh's victory and cared more about how he was fighting than whether he would win or not. Zhao tried to anticipate Iroh's blows, but in the end, he with hit one too many times, and came crashing down onto the dirt.

With powerful strides, Iroh came up directly in front of Zhao, his chest heaving with breaths. Iroh drew back his fist, and Zhao could see the fire combusting at the front of Iroh's knuckles. Zhao closed his eyes and waited for the singe of fire against his face, hoping against hope that his plan would work.

The immense heat from the fire blast…didn't feel nearly as hot as it should have been. He felt the fireball implode against the dirt directly to the right of his face, and kicked upwards with his leg, extending a spray of flames towards Iroh, who stumbled back, blinking rapidly.

Iroh roared in pain, obviously blinded by some trick of light. Zhao smiled, glad that his soldiers performed as expected. With renewing confidence, based mostly on Iroh's discomfort, Zhao stepped forward, sending gigantic blasts of flame towards the unbalanced Iroh.

Iroh wasn't down for the count, however. Trying to gain footing, he parried each blast from Zhao with ease, but that wasn't Zhao's main gaol. Iroh was not allowed to regain his ground. The instant that Zhao saw Iroh plant a foot down, he sent another curved fire blast towards him. Regardless of how effective his defense was, without his balance, Iroh was as good as done in the fight.

A subsequent cheer from the road fueled Zhao's advances. Iroh struggled to defend himself, and any counterattacks from Iroh were wild flames, jettisoned into the sky, completely missing Zhao. With successive blasts towards Iroh, Zhao continued his march forward, almost driving Iroh back to his own corner.

Roaring like a lion, Zhao bounded towards the weakened Iroh, with fists blazing with fire. A final barrage of fireballs had Iroh fall to the ground, and Zhao stood above him to deliver the customary final blow. However, Zhao simply glared at the prostate form of Iroh.

"Get in my way again, and I will do worse."

Iroh balked at the threat, before regaining his voice and beginning to howl at Zhao. "You swine! For years, your jealousy has boiled inside of you, to a point where you are willing to cheat and swindle others to achieve your goals. Defying a commander of the Fire Nation, unjustly defeating him in an Agni Kai, for what? To salvage your position in the Fire Nation? That has been long gone, Zhao. You don't know the meaning of honor!" Iroh seemed to gain power as he vented, rising back up to his feet and standing in front of

With a swift movement, Zhao come close to Iroh, staring directly into Iroh's fiery eyes. Zhao's body burned with rage, but, like he had for the past 40 years, he calmed himself, and added the rage to an inner well that he would draw upon in situations such as these.

"You know nothing of honor," Zhao whispered, barely audible for Iroh. Turning on his heels, Zhao stalked away, continuing his talk with Iroh. "As you have stated in the conditions of our Agni Kai, I will be taking my ship and leaving this harbor. On our way, we will purchase food and other supplies for the journey. Tread lightly around such matters, _Commander_ , lest your arrogance get the better of you."

Iroh fumed alone on the mud arena, steam from his nose beginning to swirl around his feet.

Azula and Zhao walked together down from the arena and through the village to the docks. As Azula reflected on how Zhao managed to distract Iroh, she began to smile, and it was legitimately out of enjoyment, and not cruelty.

"Genius, Zhao. You have truly outdone yourself. Picking today, at this very time, to have the Agni Kai was brilliant."

Zhao smiled, reveling in the feeling of accomplishment and Azu;a's compliments. "Well, taking advantage of the metalwork in the stadium was simple. Teaching a fellow bender of mine how to reflect his fire was the hard part. But, it kept the Avatar with us, and so I believe that it was worth it. Wouldn't you?"

"Yes," Azula agreed. And for the first time since leaving the Fire Nation on their banishment voyage, Zhao felt that she truly meant it.

Zhao and Azula made it to the docks, where they informed the soldiers of their victory. "Today is a good day for us," Zhao announced. "Not only did we make it across the bay, but we fought for our right to keep the Avatar and the waterbender prisoner, and we now have a direct course to the Fire Nation. Now, each and every one of you is quite hungry, and I know that. Our ship has gold, and we deserve this time to rest and restock for the last part of our journey. For after 3 years, we are able to return home!"

The crew cheered, ignoring the staring passerby, who took one look at the Fire Nation symbol on the side of the ship and hurried onwards. As Zhao took some time and explained to them how and where to buy food and supplies, so as to attract the least amount of attention, Azula couldn't help but feel a sense of courage about the days ahead, and the pride at being able to learn under Zhao's wing. A master strategist, a natural leader and a friend to the Fire Lord, he had everything. Which made his subsequent banishment and defiling that much more curious. But that could be saved until the day that they returned.

Once the soldiers had dispersed, traveling deep within the village to procure the supplies for the journey, Azula and Zhao entered the ship, to once again check on their prisoners.

Aang and Katara were in poor shape. They had lost a lot of weight, a direct result of having no water or food for days and being in constant pain. Their joints at their extremes were rubbed raw by the cuffs, and it was obvious that neither of them could bend even if they were unchained.

Azula walked up to Katara. "This wasn't even meant for you," she sneered. "All you had to do was stay in your cell. You brought this upon yourself."

Katara looked up at Azula. With heavy breaths, she panted, "And I wouldn't change a thing," before spitting in Azula's face. Azula flinched, and slowly wiped the phlegm off of her cheeks before whispering in a cold voice, "Wasting your water on spite? How childish. I'll make sure, _personally_ , that your punishment now is nothing compared to what you receive in the Fire Nation."

Aang hadn't stirred during the conversation, and Zhao leaned in to examine his eyes. There was movement below the lids, but not much, signifying that the Avatar was either in a coma, or asleep. Whichever it was, the Fire Lord could use him.

Zhao leaned back into an upright position. "It seems our historians were correct. Keeping him in such pain doesn't trigger the legendary Avatar State, nor will it ever. The danger of being starved to death or dehydration isn't enough to cause the Avatar State either. We have effectively incapacitated him. I shall be sure to reward them handsomely when we return."

Azula nodded, and the both of them ascended the stairs out of the prison hold out into the hallways, and from there onto the deck of the ship, as they both contemplated life at home after 3 years.

It took the soldiers a good two hours to return to the ship, bogged down by the enormity of the supplies they had to carry. Zhao and Azula assessed the total amount of food, water, toiletries and other necessities that had been acquired, and judged it to be sufficient for the week long journey back to the Fire Nation, the statement sending a cheer of good spirits among the soldiers.

The soldiers were then told to pile the supplies into the hold, which they did so without complaint, and were also told to rest for the days ahead. Only the mechanics and engineers that allowed the ship to function were exempt; granted, they were unable to rest once the supplies were loaded. Thankfully, the ship was underway within half an hour, and Azula sailed out of harbor, content that she was finally returning to her home without the slightest of a hitch.

However, just as they attempted to sail towards the direction of the Fire Nation, from their left approached a battalion of ships: 10 strong battleships armed with multiple catapults, cannons that shot fire, and hundreds of firebenders. Azula's jaw dropped as she soaked in the sight, before she ran to the bridge to warn Zhao. He had already been alerted to the sight, however, and his face was contorted into a grimace.

Iroh's voice rang out over the clear bay, the sounds cutting clearly across the hundred meters that separated the two sides. "Princess Azula, I do not wish to harm you or your crew. Commander Zhao has been charged with treason against a Fire Nation commander and the harboring of an illegal citizen. He is to be handed over, along with said illegal citizens. In the event that this does not happen, we will fire using our considerable manpower upon your ship. You have 30 minutes to decide."

Zhao gritted his teeth, but his response was swift. "Send our best firebenders to the prison and retrieve the Avatar and the waterbender," he told the captain. "We'll have to escape using our longboats, and let them fire onto the ship."

The captain was startled. "Sir, I would not advise doing so - "

Zhao's rage burst forth. "Did you not hear me? This is the most important operation of your life, and you would rather waste the time asking questions? Who on earth appointed your bumbling self as a captain! Do what you are told to do!"

Cowering under the outburst from the enraged Commander, the captain scurried off of the bridge, and let Azula and Zhao alone. Azula was horrified by the instant change in personality that she had never seen so visibly from Zhao. She was taken aback, and her aggressive and dominating personality took a backseat as she worried for the safety of her prisoners.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered, almost rhetorically. Zhao responded in a hoarse voice. "We sacrifice the many for the lives of the few."

Iroh didn't want to resort to such measures of threatening and blackmail, but he had no choice. Zhao lied to him, deceived him and cheated his way out of handing the prisoners over. As the commander, Iroh had to do what his nation commanded him to.

He'd always liked Azula. Unfortunately, she grew up under the wing of Zhao, a corrupt and disgusting human being whose only goal was destruction and demolition. There was no telling what he would do for his goals, and that included cheating, stealing and treason.

"Commander, we have 5 minutes left until the deadline."

There wasn't much Iroh could do about losing the waterbender and the Avatar. The Fire Nation would have to look through the Water Tribes to find the new Avatar, but with their luck, the Avatar would be born into the Southern Water Tribe, a much easier target.

Unfortunately, should the Avatar be born into the Northern Water Tribe, there would need to be a much more…invasive maneuver to gain the Avatar's possession. The Fire Lord wouldn't be pleased that his daughter and friend were gone, blown up into a thousand pieces, lying at the bottom of some bay in the Earth Kingdom, but once Iroh told his younger brother the story, he was sure that Ozai would understand.

"Commander, their time is up. Would you like me to initiate the attack?"

Iroh took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded his head slowly.

Azula, Zhao, the captain and the best firebenders on the ship watched as their comrades burned in their sleep and their ship went down in flames.

They viewed the horrific burning from the shores of the Earth Kingdom, in some sort of forest. Their two prisoners were well and truly unconscious, a side effect of being malnourished and in agony for over two weeks. They would soon wake up, however, and be forced to walk with Azula's party through the jungles until they reached the islands of the Fire Nation. There, Azula would use her influence as Princess to get them to the capital.

Luckily, thanks to some quick thinking by one of the more experienced soldiers, they were able to salvage some of the supplies, enough to keep them alive for a few weeks. They would have to resort to more extreme measures, should they need to acquire more supplies.

Azula was the first to look away from the wreckage, followed by Zhao and the captain. Some of the soldiers were distraught at losing their friends, the only distinction between them being their skills at bending. However, their only hope now was to move forward, and so, begrudgingly, they trudged through the forest following Azula.

Iroh felt a tear trickle down his cheek as he watched the ship explode. He hoped against hope that Azula made it out, preferably without the prisoners, but he knew that neither of those things occurred. He felt much less sorry for Zhao, but sorry nonetheless. At least in the Fire Nation, he would be kept alive.

Iroh's aide stepped up next to him. "The deed is done, Commander. Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

Iroh nodded slowly. "Send a message to the Fire Lord," he intoned. "'The Fire Princess, Azula, and the traitorous Commander Zhao are both dead, caught in the treasonous act of harboring the Avatar and a waterbender. As per the rules of the Fire Nation, we sentenced them to death, along with all on board.'"

THE END

 **That was it. I'm too tired to make an ending author's note. Just...wait a few days (maybe 5) for the next chapter. It's going to be _Fire of the Red Lotus_ , so if you like that fanon, you should stick around.**


	6. Chapter 5: Escape into the Night

**Something I would like to mention before we get into this chapter is that I am amazed at the amount of support you guys are showing this series. Half of the views and visitors for this fanon have come from this month alone, and that amounts to more than 350 views. I really appreciate it.**

 **This is the fifth Chapter in _The Desire for Honor_. It doesn't have as much action, or storyline, but I think it sets up well for the next chapter.**

THE DESIRE FOR HONOR  
CHAPTER 5: ESCAPE INTO THE NIGHT

Zhao's footsteps could be heard for kilometers around, as he stomped through the forest with little discretion for his location. The dried leaves below his steel boots felt his fury as he and the rest of the crew were forced to walk as Princess Azula, the self - proclaimed most important and valuable person in their party, was carried in a Fire Nation palanquin that they stole from a nearby village.

The prisoners weren't as lucky. They were forced to walk as well, with the cuffs chafing their ankles and wrists. They had barely noticed their forced and hurried escape from the ship, and too tired to recognize the ship exploding into flames. Now forced to walk for miles upon miles, their starved, thirsty and sleep - deprived bodies could barely move, let alone walk with the immense pain in their joints.

It was Katara who passed out from exhaustion first, a likely scenario as she had never been subjected to such hard tasks before. She tipped forward, already sleeping, and crashed into the leaves, her light body creating little sound as the ground swallowed the blast. Unfortunately, she was one of the first people in the line of soldiers and servants, and caused a chain reaction of twisting limbs, screams of agony and the hollow "thud!" of bodies against the mulch.

Zhao was alerted to this when a particularly clumsy soldier tripped and landed against Zhao's leg, even though he was ahead of the line. Zhao turned around so sharply that the soldier had to jerk his hand back to avoid the fingers being stepped on. "Get up, get everyone else up, because we're almost ready to camp for the night," Zhao snarled. Even the most innocent of phrases could be turned into derisive, the soldier learned, who was almost wishing he were back on the flaming, sinking warship.

After everyone had tidied themselves up, Zhao scouted the surrounding forest, trying to find a more clear section in which to camp in. Some of the more unfortunate soldiers nearly buckled under the weight of all the supplies that Azula scavenged before the ship went down, and the majority of the resources were for her own personal use in her little room that the palanquin provided.

It took the better part of an hour before Zhao could locate a suitable location for the 20 survivors. A misshapen circle spanning 60 meters at its widest point, there would be little room for the soldiers to be private, and all they had were rags to sleep on. As such, most of the party opted to sleep directly onto the ground, except for the prisoners, who had no choice, and Azula, who slept in the comfort of the palanquin.

Zhao grumbled inaudibly at the edge of the clearing, rocks digging into his back. His armor laying near him, Zhao was nearly tempted to wear it, cumbersome and sore as it was. He tossed and turned for over half an hour before he gave up. Instead of sleep, he decided he would take a walk, letting his soldier's brain do the rote memorization of the landscape while he tried to relax.

He grunted as he hauled his body up, his physical stature forcing him to stay secluded from other people. He gazed out over the entire clearing, taking stock of each person. Again, it was his time in the army that subconsciously told him to do so. You could never have been too careful on expeditions into conquered territory, even if reports ensured the submission of the inhabitants.

Steam began to envelop Zhao as his eyes passed over Azula's palanquin, a physical representation of her snobbery and arrogance. Zhao remembered her being much more submissive as a girl, quite ruthless, but much more suited for a leadership position in the Fire Nation. However, as soon as she was removed, forcibly, from her previous position, she turned into a whirlwind of rage, treating everyone and everything cruelly, indiscriminately singling out the slightest of mistakes. He had begun to hate her then.

As he finished his cursory sweep of the large area that they inhabited, ensuring that the 53 people who were a part of their party were the ones lying down, he shuffled over to the captain, who he knew would be awake at this moment. In fact, because of the captain's experience in navy wars, he never slept for more than a few hours at a time, and rarely was that during the night. It was one of the reasons Zhao had recruited him before his banishment.

He circled the captain three times, stopping at the crown of his head. His heels clicked together twice, and he leaned over at the waist, just above the captain's face. Almost too quiet for himself to hear, he whispered, "The crow and the raven fly tonight." An old Fire Nation phrase, Zhao had used it many times in his career. The captain had as well, which led to him instantly sitting up and walking with Zhao out of the clearing and into the forest.

Aang had never slept. His body was raging with sensations and emotions, a predominant pain emanating from his extremities, but Aang hadn't found the correct niche within which to sleep. It was the perfect spot that incorporated multiple factors that were all flexible to an extent, including the comfort of the sleeping area, the environment, the situation under which he was sleeping, any duress, who he was with at the time…

Aang's thoughts trailed off as he realized he was sleeping right near Katara, the only person with whom he had company for half a month. After being ripped away from his society and seeing them all burn, he didn't have any connections, but Katara made him feel welcome. Even if they were rotting in the basement of a ship, at least they had each other, and Katara made sure that Aang was treated better than herself, if only to the slightest extent.

Which was why as soon as Aang heard the rustling of leaves, the crunching of dried twigs and soil under heavy boots and the clinking of metal tapping against metal, he clamped a hand over Katara's mouth, waking her, and directed her eyes over to Zhao and the captain.

Squeals of protest immediately died in her throat as she stared, wide - eyed, at the captain and Zhao walking in unison into the forest. Katara blinked at Aang in a series of long and short flutters. Creating a system in the prison cell, they conversed silently on what to do:

 _What do we do now?_

 _Follow them?_

Katara shook her head. Wherever it was easier, she preferred to used head motions to convey her thoughts.

 _What harm could it do?_

 _We could get caught?_

 _And what can they do back?_

Although Katara understood the message long before Aang finished, she was still shocked when he ended. Begrudgingly, she accepted, if only for the slight leverage of information they may gain. She chose to stand up first, gaining a relatively sturdier stance so that Aang could have as strong a foundation to not make any noise.

The chains seemed determined to hit each other as many times on the way up as possible, as if they were magnetized. One after the other, the chains rattled their metallic fists at Katara and Aang, who managed to cause no noise through sheer luck. It didn't seem to run out as they realized that Zhao and the captain and exited the clearing close to where they lay.

Aang went first, trying to clear as much dried and crisp foliage as possible before stepping forward. Katara was not far behind, thanks to their conjoined metallic bonds. She had the immense task of making sure that they made no sound on the back end, trying to make sure that Aang didn't jerk his leg or move his hand in a way that would compromise their situation. So they went along, an odd sight to behold: A young tattooed monk, hunched over, using airbending to clear the path on the ground while a waterbender in a muddied parka desperately grabbing at the chains.

It took them over 20 minutes to reach Zhao and his assistant, an achievement downgraded by the fact that the distance that they traveled was barely half a kilometer. Fortunately, they stumbled quite randomly upon a flickering light in the distance, and common sense told them to hunker down and be quiet, their bodies begging for the sweet release of sleep. They fought to keep their eyes open as they creeped closer to Zhao's meeting spot with the captain.

It was the captain who was holding the ball of flame aloft on his hand, hovering about 3 centimeters above his outstretched palm. The strain was evident on his face; beads of sweat rolled down his lighted cheek. Zhao had a smirk on his face; whether it was from his enjoyment at seeing the captain struggle or from the content of the discussion.

They had chosen a heavily wooded section of the forest, well - equipped to hide their words and actions. This allowed Aang and Katara to hide within earshot while still being completely obscured, as long as they made no noise. They settled down just as Zhao placed his hand over the captain's shoulder.

"Please, try to understand. Where's the harm in doing it?"

The captain shrugged Zhao's hand off of his own shoulder. "I'll tell you the harm," he raged. "You could get the both of us - and anyone else you've implicated in your ridiculous scheme - arrested for treason. We're not tramping through rebellious territory: This side of the Earth Kingdom is crawling with Fire Nation scum who are dying to project their military career. An arrest of two high - ranking soldiers will no doubt entice them."

A line drew itself across the bottom of Zhao's mouth. "That's only if we get caught."

"And what's to say we won't? Defy the Fire Lord, and Princess Azula, with 50 other soldiers back there waiting to please her in any way possible, but do it without my help."

Her mouth open in an "O", Katara looked back and forth between Aang, Zhao and the captain. Aang, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes, and kept them fixed on the conversation in front of him. Katara took the cue and turned back just in time to hear the trailing end of Zhao's sentence.

"…hates her anyway. Why shouldn't they go against her in any way possible? She isn't the most forgiving or kind of heiresses."

It was the captain's turn to bottle his frustration. "They only hate her because you've stoked the fire. And if she is so unforgiving and cruel, then why on earth would following your plan be of any use? If we make one misstep, _one mistake_ , Azula will throw you into the same cell as the Avatar and his friend."

The fire danced in Zhao's eyes, and the captain wasn't sure if it was because he was mad or enraged. Trying to end the conversation quickly, he stormed off in the direction of Aang and Katara, shouting behind him, "You do whatever harebrained idea you have, but leave me out of it!" He instantly extinguished the flame and came crashing into the underbrush, directly near Aang's body.

Zhao charged after the captain, his anger leaving his body by smoldering his white shirt. He had almost grabbed the captain's arm when he glanced past the broad - shouldered man and found the glinting eyes of Aang. Without thinking, he grabbed the captain's arm with his fiery palm, leaving a mark on his wrist. The captain bellowed in pain and whirled around, giving Aang and Katara enough time to get up and flee.

Zhao was blocked by the heavyset captain as he tried to charge after the prisoners. He could hear the clanging of the metal as he tried to force himself past the captain, but he was obstinate. Unable to articulate words past his words, Zhao choked, "The prisoners!" just long enough for the captain to turn around and notice the glint of metal reflecting the moon.

All Katara felt was the jerk of Aang's body rubbing against her sore wounds as she was forced to her feet and started running after Aang. As soon as they heard Zhao shout, they increased their speed, trying as quickly as they could to get away from him at the same time. It was only when they neared the clearing that they realized that the circle full of Fire Nation soldiers and the Fire Princess was not the place to go. Angling their run slightly, they veered off into the night, the jangling of their chains disappearing as they took their one chance at freedom.

Zhao stumbled into the clearing, exhausted and dripping with sweat. A few seconds later, the portly captain crashed through the underbrush and into the clearing. The combination of the two men caused everyone to wake up quickly. Adjusted to sea life, they were never in a deep sleep, and could instantly awaken at any mention of danger.

Azula, however, was not accustomed to such disturbances, and was often known to sleep through the thunder and lightning of a storm while the crew where struggling to keep the boat afloat. She crawled out of the palanquin as she heard the boots thump by outside of her palanquin.

Zhao stormed past the group of soldiers and let the captain handle the soldiers. He knelt near Azula, and whispered, "The prisoners have escaped." The next thing he felt was a smack on his cheek, and even with his stubble, Azula didn't react. "Then find them, you moron! My entire life rests on this!"

Even though Zhao wanted to comment in return, he turned around and bellowed at the group. "No one sleeps until we find the Avatar and the waterbender! Get out there, and find them!" He would find the prisoners if it meant burning down the forest, but first, he wanted to have a little chat with the captain.

THE END

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and be prepared either this week or the next for another episode from one of my fanons. See you then!**


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